Reenforced metal shelf



Aug. 13, 1935. J H FORD 2,011,357

REENFORCED METAL SHELF Filed Oct. 19, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 1 Ei-L J2 7 f@ J1 l 4 j' 4l l J vl 4J L 'f5 j W J l Z6 rf? J f f 1 L Q- 2 W F- Qi-- Aug. 13, 1935. 1. FORD REENFORCED METAL SHELF Filed Oct. 19, 1932 2 Sheets-.Sheet 2 WWW Patented Aug. 13, 1935 011.gif

n RnENF-oRonn. METAL 'SHELF .mim Howardrira, Washington, D. o.

' ApplicationrOctober 19,A 1932, (Serial No. 638.644

(oi. air- 153) 14 Claims.

and'labor or corni'ilicatedv modes ofrassembly.

One of the objects of my invention isto provide a shelf of open constructioawhichwiu Offer nolodgrnent for dust. f y 15 A further Object' of'my inventionis to provide anopen shelf from' sheet metal of small gauge loyaV` minimum ofy operations and economy of* manufacture. y

o( 'Among the objects of my invention is to reduce grftloer` numberA ofr edgesv 'that ymay project beneath the `top'and'be scraped byv anuptilted book when placed-fon:alsheiifbeneath.Y v

It is a further object of my invention toproi' vide such' 'a shelf withv adequate'reenforceinent gg'falongvthefronti edge in conjunctionwith a re-y enforcement'running laterallyfof the middlev 'of the'device. l i f One of the objectsV of-iny invention is to utilize wthef lateralivreenforcernen't` in positioning and afibracing-fthe individuallledgesof which the shelf is composed. I l .A l t 4 vvOther/objects of liny invention and-advantages inthe-improved construction willappear from the-'foilowing description ofthe-'preferred form f'fliof'my device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

v Fig. lo isa plan View ofy the improved shelf; Y Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the right hand end oftheshelffshown-in Fig. i; v f 40@ Figfis an enlarged transverse section on the linee-310i Fig. i; n f

"Fig, 4-is an enlarged planfview of one rear corner;

Fig. 5 is a plan'view of the shelf including a 4f'transverse reenforcement;

Fig. 6 'isa inansverse section on the line S-S of'Fig. 5;` i

Fig. '7/v is a1sirnilar-cross-section of a modified ...forrn' 'H o 5 ing of these shelf 'units on a vertical rack; n

Fig. 9lisan enlargedv vertical section on'the -line 9+-i3,1.oiTr Fig. 5 and ig 10 is anfenlaiged'elevation of the oppoe 'siterear corner ofthe shelf. j- Y y These objects must 101-be attained without added expensefor material'` 505 Fig. Sis a detailed elevationshowing'a-.rnoiint- The shelf denoted generally by theA numerall;v isicomposed of a piece of sheet metal' 8L* This. sheet of nietal has its edges bent down to'forrny flanges at the front, rear and sides. The rear flange is generally the full depth ofthe device and extends from' end'to end thereof. 'At the' Y corners as illustrated in Fig. li) this flange is' out away as shown at l to provide clearance required in sliding the shelf into place overthe.

customary supporting lugs found' in the usual' 10`Lz shelf racks. Y

The side fianges l! are also bent downfrom the top 8 for the full depth of the device.. At the rear these anges ll are notched orfcut'f' out to forro a slope i2, a` bearing.portionl'Iafl". V

front edge ifi and a rear stop l5'. The frontLedge i-ffinand the stop i5 engage opposite sidesofgtheQ support upon which the bearing portion l3j resta.'

The front edge of the flanges `H are-alsoi-"cut away to provide 'a tongue i6 behindwhichis 20M outlet forv theends of 'a reenforcingfbar.' .n l The front of the shelf is formed by a flange; H whichis bent down from the sheet-metal. and.Y has an inner upstanding edge i3. Areenforcingg' bar i9 nts between the top of the shelf and thegz flanges il and i8 inthe mannerfindcatedin Fig. A6.A l l The reenforcing har I9-has extensions' orfeet-f 2E? at each end. Thes-e feet are ofreducedfheight'f. as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. Eachifoothas acen-v trally sloping bottom edge 2l. By meansofthe.- feet 28 the shelf rests upon the lugs 22 orf-#ther usual shelving rack 23. Any tendency towardf movement ofthe feet 2l! due to the weight. of 35,. the load being carried will-tend to insure proper.v mounting of the shelf on the rack. t

The main portion ofthe sheetmetaliis. slotted longitudinally to form a series of horizontal ledgesz The front' ledge 2t `is indicated as extendingback- 4 wardly from the front ange I1.' In the-forml shown in detailzin Figs. 3, 4, and 6, the ledges arel arched or given a curved cross-section-to reduceY the surface-actually in contact with the articlesy such. as books which are carried on the shelfi' 45'? This reduces the sliding friction and-atithelsame' time minimizes the tendency of thefledgesltogac- Y cumulate dust. y

The ledge 2d has a rear edge 25 which extends downwardly from the'top ofthe shelf. 'IhecuryeV 50" ing of the ledge in this manner adds greatlyto;v

. its rigidity.` As it is not necessary to extendfjvjthe l edge 25 downwardly vfor any substantial distance.IY the ledges may thus be brought; closer. together.

If desired theedge Ztl-maybe continued around"55i QF FICE:A n u: .f

The ledge 2B is shown to have a front flangeY V 30. This is bent down at right angles to the plane of the shelf and extends for a substantial partl of the depth of the shelf. The free edge of the flange 30 is doubled over as shown at 3l to provide strengthening of this flange. The edge also when doubled over gives a smooth curved surface which will not injurefthe handV of the person or the top edge of the book whichV may be inserted between the shelves. In1this connection it is to be understood that very little clearance is afforded between shelves of this type and that in moving books into or out of theshelves, it is the usual practice to Vtilt the books so that their Y top edges are in danger of being scraped by the shelfjabove. f .Y

The rear edge of the ledge 26 is also bent down to form an edge 25 but as this edge is not extended for a great distance and does not project Yasfar asthe flange 30 and the latter servesas aY protection for the edge 25. In forming the ledges; with Vone long flange 3D and-a short edge 25.thegreater portion of the sheet material forms Vpart 'of the reinforcing flange 3B whichis found most desirable from thestandpoint of design.

Eaehof the ledges 25 to 29 inclusive are' similar inform and as shown in Fig. 6 the rear ledge 32` is Vformed `from the sheet metal extending forwardly from the rear flange` 9 A from ange A.A 29, and 30. Inthis way a very-satisfactory struc- 33 is provided forthe ledge 32 comparable with theflange 30 and 4 also has a doubled-over freel edefpil-V Y f Where the ratio of the length of the shelf to its ""wldth is not excessive, the above design provides ample rigidity. The longitudinal reenforcement Ii-lV andthe parallel flanges 30 are sufficient to prevent distorticnof the several ledges 24, -26,

ture ls'developed However, where the length of theV shelf is out of proportion to its Width, an added stifl'ening can beobtained by the use ofY a-transverse reenforcement such as is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. For this purpose the flanges 30 and 33 are punched out toA form a series of alined openings through which a transverse reenforcement is applied.

head 35 of which isrheld by the flange 9. This spacing sleeves V36, 36.

'rod extends through the intermediate flanges and is screw-threaded into the longitudinal reenforcing bar I9.

intermediate ledges, I vhave provided a series of These Ysleeves fit loosely around the rod34 and are ofv sufficient length to flt closely between the flanges of adjacent ledges. Inthis way the ledges 24, 26, 2l, 28, 29-and 32 are held inrigid spaced positions. This position is alsofrmly established with respect to the 1ongitudinal bar I9 so that the Shelf does not su'er by bending. At the same time the end flanges f may berelatively distorted to a slight degree in order to maintain a four-point support on -the end racks even though the latter may be somewhat out of the common plane. Y

In Fig. 7 I haveshown a modified form of shelf Vin which therrear edge l25 of eachledge' maintained in supported position.

This reenforcernent consists of a rod 34, the Y In order to maintain rigid spacing between the is extended downwardly to form a rear flange-31 which is co-extensive withr and parallelvto the -front flange 30. This gives each ledge an lnverted U-shape. In this arrangement theV front ledge 24' has a similar depending flange 38.

In Athis design the transverse reenforcement 34extends beyond the rear flange 38 of the ledge 24. At this end the rod 34 isscrew-threaded to receive a nut 39. Tightening'this nutwll serve to clamp the sleeves 36 onV the spaced. parallel flanges Stand 31 so'that the respective ledges are VA shelf formedY as above described is and economically assembled from' stock material with a minimum of labor. Machine operation can be usedfor the formation of theledges and depending flanges.. In like manner` the assembly of the reenforcing bar I9 is readily accomplished.

The provision of the transverse reenforcing rod 34 holds thenseveral parts against lateral -movementV providing a f'lrmgrille. The shelf isthus` supportedin two directionswith a wide margin of safety. The arrangement of the top is well adapted for use where it is' desired to'ha've'an open structure with ample support for books or other articles which' are generally slid into place.

While the preferred form of this device has been illustrated and described by way of example,

Y Vstillit will be readily apparent to those familiar with such devices thatmany variations in proportion, details, and size may be made within the scope of the following clams.

What I claim is:

1. A shelf made of a singlepiece of sheet metal slotted to form a series of parallel ledges, a flange depending froml each ledge, a` bar beneath the front end ledge of the series, the flange of said ledge being folded upwardly around the bottom edge of said bar,` a reenforcing rod runningV transversely through the flanges of the remaining ledges and connected to said bar, and spacing sleeves on the rod between'the flanges of adjacent ledges.

2. `A shelf made of a singleI piece of sheet metal slotted toform a series of parallel ledges, a flange depending from each ledge, a bar beneath theV` Y front end ledge of the series, the flange'of said' vledge being Vfolded upwardly around the bottom edge of said bar, and a reenforcing rod running transversely through the flanges of the remaining ledges and connected to Said bar.

3. A shelf made of asingle piece ofsheet metal slotted to form a series of parallel ledges, a single flange depending from each intermediate ledge of the series,`a`reenforcing rod running trans# versely through said flanges, and spacing sleevesY Y carried on said rod and abutting Vthe opposite sides of each of said flanges.

4. Ashelf made of a single piece of sheet metal.l

slotted to form a series of parallel ledges, and a flange depending from one side only lof each ledge,

said flanges having ltheir, free edges doubled over and each flange belngcomposed of substantially all of the material'in the sheet between adjacent ledges.

5. A shelf made of a single piece of sheet metal slotted to form'aseries of parallel ledges -each having an `inverted L-shape, a Ylongitudinal re-v enforcement beneath the front ledge ofthe series and forming a continuous support upon which the saidledge rests throughout itslength.

6. A shelf made'of a single piece of sheet metal, depending flanges on the side and end margins' of the sheet, a reenforcing bar held by one of said flanges, an off-set end to 'said bar, said reenforcing bar having an extension passing through al marginal end ilange to form a shelf-supporting projection, and a tongue formed in said marginal end flange to retain said-extension of the bar.

7. A shelf made of a single piece of sheet metal slotted to form a series of inverted L-shaped parallel ledges, the depending ilange portion of each intermediate ledge comprising the material from the adjacent slot, a reenforcing rod running transversely through said flanges and spacing sleeves carried on said rod and abutting the op posite sides of the flanges of adjacent ledges.

8. A shelf made of a single piece of sheet metal formed with a series of inverted L-shaped par.- allel ledges having their supporting surfaces upwardly convexed, said ledges being separated by slots, each ledge, along one side only thereof, having its single depending flange portion formed from'all the metal from the adjacent slot and extending downwardly for a depth greaterV than the Width of the connected supporting surface.

9. A shelf made of a single piece of sheet metal f slotted to form a series o f inverted L-shapedparallel ledges, the single flange portion depending from each intermediate ledge comprising the material from the adjacent slot.

l0. A shelf made from a single piece of sheet metal slotted to form a series of parallel ledges, one edge of each intermediate ledge being depressed slightly from the plane of the ledge, and

a flange depending from the other edge of the ledge for a depth greater than the Width of the connected supporting surface and comprising the material from the adjacent slot. Y

ll. A shelf made of a single piece of sheet meta-l slotted to form a series of inverted L-shaped parallel ledges including a ange portion depending from each of the intermediate ledges comprising the material from the adjacent slot, the front a single piece of sheet metal slotted to form a. f

series of spaced ledges of inverted L-shaped section, each intermediate ledge of the series comprising an article-supporting portion'and a single reenforcing flange portion on one side only of the supporting portion, the said flange portion comprising the material from the adjacent slot and depending at right angles from the said supporting portion, said flange portions having theiry free edges doubled over.

13. A shelf made from a single piece of sheetv metal slotted to form a series of inverted L'- shaped parallel ledges, the depending flange portion of each ledge in the series comprising the material from the adjacent slot, and a ledge vat each end of the series having outer flanges containing a relatively greater amount of material than the flanges of the rst named ledges.

14. A shelf or similar structure comprising a frame, a series of supporting Aunits supported on said framaeach supporting unit being resistant to bending and comprising a single strip of sheet metal forming an inverted L-shaped cross-section, the upper portion thereof being convexed upwardly for compressive rigidity and the other portion constituting a depending iiange of a depth substantially equivalent to the distance between the adjacent units and having its free edge doureceiving maximum tension.

J OHN HOWARD FORD. 

